How to get to the Festival

Southampton, gateway to the Isle of Wight Festival

Southampton is the gateway to the Isle of Wight Festival and is easy to reach by car, train, coach and plane from anywhere in the UK. Red Funnel operates a passenger vehicle ferry service from Southampton to East Cowes on the Island and also a passenger only Red Jet Hi-Speed service to West Cowes. Whichever route you choose, we very much look forward to welcoming you onboard.

Vehicle Customers

Red Funnel operates the largest vehicle ferries to the Isle of Wight so taking a vehicle packed with all your camping gear is easy. The service operates between Southampton and East Cowes (just a short 10 minute drive to the festival campsite). The crossing takes just under an hour so there's plenty of time to get something to eat and a pre-festival beer or two as you cruise down Southampton water.

It is essential that you book in advance as the ferries will become fully booked. Booking early ensures you get our cheapest fares and first pick of the sailing times so you can travel at the times that suit you best.

Foot Passengers

Foot passengers have a choice of ferry routes from Southampton. Red Funnel's Red Jet Hi-Speed service operates every 30 minutes and goes to West Cowes taking just 23 minutes. The Passenger Vehicle Ferry service operates every hour and goes to East Cowes, taking just under 1 hour.

If arriving in Southampton by train, the FREE CityLink bus service connects the railway station with the ferry terminals at Town Quay. Coach passengers should walk the short distance to the railway station and catch the CityLink service. Red Funnel's Terminal 1 is for East Cowes and Terminal 2 is for West Cowes. If arriving by plane please click here for travel directions.

If you are camping (campsite is open midday Thu 11 to midday Mon 15 June), we recommend that you use the passenger vehicle ferry service to East Cowes, as the bus journey is quicker. You can buy ferry passenger tickets online to save queing at the ticket office. Alternatively you can buy them on departure along with return shuttle bus tickets as they are £2 cheaper compared to buying them on the bus.

If you are not camping it is quicker to catch the non-bookable Red Jet Hi-Speed service to West Cowes. The crossing takes just 23 minutes and tickets (including discounted shuttle bus tickets) can be purchased on departure.

Once you arrive on the Island, festival shuttle buses operate between both ferry terminals and the bus terminus at the festival (adjacent to the campsites) from Thu 11 to Mon 15 June. Shuttle bus tickets can be used from either East or West Cowes on Thu, Fri & Sat, returning on Sun or Mon.

Top tip: If you are not camping and decide to use the Red Jet service to West Cowes and catch the shuttle bus please ensure you alight from the bus at Newport rather than continuing on to the festival terminus, which is quite a walk from the main arena. The main festival entrance is just a short walk from the Newport bus stop.

Direction Map